Hit A Plateau - Help Please!!

imgone324
imgone324 Posts: 84
edited September 29 in Motivation and Support
I started out great, losing 15 pounds the first 2 weeks and now I've gone 4 days and haven't lost anything more. Any suggestions to kick start my weightloss again would be great.

Replies

  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    I wouldn't worry about 4 days. There are too many daily/weekly variables to factor. Actually, I don't even consider a plateau a plateau unless 3 or more weeks have gone by. Try not to let this discourage you. Just have patience... it will come. :)
  • cdpm
    cdpm Posts: 297 Member
    I've hit it too :( I have heard that changing one of the three things will help. Cardio, resistance training and calorie intake. I'm going to try changing one of these and see what happens!
  • Heatherbelle_87
    Heatherbelle_87 Posts: 1,078 Member
    I started out great, losing 15 pounds the first 2 weeks and now I've gone 4 days and haven't lost anything more. Any suggestions to kick start my weightloss again would be great.

    Access to your dairy an alot more information is going to help anyone loosing at this.

    Age? Height? Workout routine? If we can access your diary we can see what youre eating. And 4 days isnt really a plateau.
  • amygindle
    amygindle Posts: 10
    same thing I did.. take a weekend to eat what u like.. in moderation though. trick ur mind and body..then start again. I had to do it twice so far.. :)
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    4 days doesn't a plateau make.

    With that first quick initial loss I'm not surprised to "see" no loss for a few days while things stabilize.
  • Dornroschen
    Dornroschen Posts: 178 Member
    Okay, so I think everybody's body works different. I just lost 15 or so pounds in the last three weeks...3.8 of those in the last week even though I couldn't exercise due to an injury. Perhaps you need to eat a few more calories or cut back on exercise for a few days and then start back up? Sometimes your metabolism needs a bit of a shock.
  • tcpowell25
    tcpowell25 Posts: 292
    I went through the same thing about two weeks ago. Try adding resistance or extra sets to your workout. For example, before I reached a plateau I was using light weights for sculpting and little to know resistance on the treadmill. I went up two pound on my weights for sculpting and added an incline on my treadmill. This helped tremendously! I lost three pounds by the end of that week. I also recently changed up my workout routine by adding an aerobics video. Last but not least, I began to drink more water. I hope this helps.
  • jordanlell
    jordanlell Posts: 340 Member
    4 days really isn't much of a plateau. I think it's pretty normal to lose quite a bit right out of the gate, and then it levels off. My first 20lbs came off within the first couple months, and since then (in the last 3-4 months) I've only lost another 10, and I've been stuck at 156-159 for at least a month now. I think it depends on how much you have to lose, like if you have a lot to lose it will come off faster but if you're only a little overweight it'll be slower going. Just be patient and keep at it.

    Also, I'm sure you'll be getting a lot of responses telling you that you should not weigh everyday, but as a nearly everyday weigher for the past 6 months I say it depends on your attitude. If you're the type to let it get you down if the scale doesn't move for a few days and then just give up, then no, you shouldn't weigh everyday. But, if you just like to know where you stand from day to day and don't let it affect your habits, then I say weigh yourself as often as you like.
  • anna_lisa
    anna_lisa Posts: 486 Member
    That is alot in two weeks, body probably needs to adjust give it time it will restart
  • dulcy
    dulcy Posts: 69 Member
    15lbs in 2 weeks is a huge loss. You have to expect it to slow up at some point. But it's only been 4 days. Maybe try only weighing in once a week. then you notice a loss more than day by day.
    Like someone else said maybe change your exercise? Are you eating back the exercise calories?
    I'm sure you'll get lots of support & advice x
    Good luck:flowerforyou:
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    I plateaued for 6 weeks near my goal weight. It took 7 nights of having some sort of chocolate snack in the evening to get me moving downward again. I didn't change anything else with my diet or exercise. I lost 2.4 lbs in 7 days. There is no ONE answer on why someone plateaus. Only that each individual body is asking for something. The key is to experiment with different things to try to figure out what YOUR body needs. Is it less sodium? Do you need to increase your calories? Do you need a deficit in calories? The one thing I can almost guarantee is that the answer will lie within your diet... not with adding more exercise.
  • bbbbb33333
    bbbbb33333 Posts: 1,107 Member
    Yes, open your diary if you want ideas. I was at a plateau for 2-3 weeks until some one said I was eating too few calories. I exercise a lot, so after exercise I was netting ~ 1000 calories (and going into starvation mode.... body wanting to keep weight on). I increased eating and now am averaging 1300-1400 calories net (was told not to go below 1200 net). The next week I lost 3 lbs. I expect to loose a pound or two this week.

    Also, are you consistently exercising?
  • HeyLisa
    HeyLisa Posts: 201
    I was told by a trainer a while ago that a true plateau is more then 4 weeks of no lbs OR inches lost!
  • imgone324
    imgone324 Posts: 84
    Where do I go to "open" my diary? Sorry for the newbie question.
  • Dornroschen
    Dornroschen Posts: 178 Member
    Go to your diary, click the settings tab. That should take you to a screen where you can pick which nutrients you want your diary to track. If you scroll down there will be choices for your diary privacy.
  • Dornroschen
    Dornroschen Posts: 178 Member
    I looked at the last three days entered in your diary. You are definitely not eating enough. Up your calories so your net ends up being at least 1200 calories. For example, yesterday (assuming you entered all your food consumed and estimated your calories burned correctly) you should have eaten at least 700 to 800 calories more. Your body is probably in starvation mode.
  • Heatherbelle_87
    Heatherbelle_87 Posts: 1,078 Member
    Ok checked out your diary

    For Men its actually a 1500 cal minimum, so you arent even hitting the min for a woman. Thats why you lost so much so quickly. Now your body is going "CRAP! Im not getting the nutrition I NEED. HOLD EVERYTHING!!" I would advise tracking your sodium with some of the food choices I saw. But other then that you are making good choices but you DO NEED MORE
  • rupicola
    rupicola Posts: 9
    I see you also skip entire meals; you have to keep the engine running, so you have to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day. I've read somewhere you have to eat something every 4 hours, so you have to eat some snacks as well.

    Yes, it's not easy losing weight, you have to eat so much ;)
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